cleavage
/ˈkliːvɪd͡ʒ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.40 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The hollow or separation between a woman's breasts, especially as revealed by a low neckline.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Any similar separation between two body parts, such as the buttocks or toes.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Mineral cleavage is a property of cohesion. The cleavage of the particles themselves and its attitude with reference to the plane of the greatest and mean dimensional axes help to determine the perfection of rock cleavage. The more nearly parallel to the greater dimensions of the particle, and the better the mineral cleavage, the better the rock cleavage produced."
- "[…] the forces — the internal cleavages over class differences, the desire for "the good life," the white racist flight from the die schwartze — which shattered Jewish working-class community in the generation before mine."
- "It will become apparent from the following discussion that some of the various structures which are grouped together as cleavage may correspond to a schistosity and/or foliation. Accordingly, Wilson defines rock cleavage (and schistosity) as a planar structure, usually distinct from stratification, which permits rocks to be fractured or cleaved into thin slices. Dennis (1977) defines cleavage as a set of closely spaced secondary, planar, parallel fabric elements that impart mechanical anisotropy to a rock without apparent loss of cohesion. This latter definition appears more precise; however, as we shall see, it presents many difficulties in dealing with those forms of cleavage which are mainly defined by foliation or by fractures."
- "Holonym: décolletage"
- "Low-cut Restoration costumes worn by the Misses Lockwood and Roc (see cut) display too much "cleavage" (Johnston Office trade term for the shadowed depression dividing an actress' bosom into two distinct sections)."
- "Wendy thought that her therapist was looking down her cleavage and said so. The therapist was mortified and chiefly felt guilty, unsure whether she had been looking down her patient's cleavage or not. On a reflex she assured Wendy that she was not looking down her cleavage and the matter appeared to rest."
Etymology
Etymology tree English cleave Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus Latin -āticus Latin -āticum Old French -agebor. Middle English -age English -age English cleavage From cleave + -age.